5 fitness essentials: the only exercise components you'll ever need—for life - Born To Move

What's your reason to get out and get moving: to lose weight, shape up, decrease stress, lift your mood, prevent illness or delay the effects of aging? Whether it's one or all of the above, your body needs five interrelated fitness components to stay in balance: cardiovascular exercise, strength-building exercises, flexibility enhancers, core training for your torso muscles, and restorative movement. The incorporation of several--or all--of these essentials into your workout is the most efficient way to stay fit. It also optimizes your time and helps eliminate boredom. Starting this month, we'll be presenting a series of integrated plans combining the fitness components that you need to improve your health, body awareness and vitality. The initial workout here, designed by Karen Andes, a certified teacher, trainer and fitness author in San Rafael, Calif., combines a walk/run program with yoga stretches to build your heart and lungs, boost your flexibility and reduce stress. These elements represent three of our five fitness essentials (explained at right). You can look forward to a stronger cardiovascular system, more supple muscles and the feeling of being more alive in your body.

The basic 5

These elements are crucial to your base-line body needs in order to maintain health. The highlighted activities are components of the integrated workout on these pages.

* cardio

What you get: Strengthens your heart and lungs; reduces risk of heart disease and stroke; increases aerobic endurance and power; burns significant calories; may improve your mood.

What you need: For health, accumulate at least 30 minutes of activity; for fitness, three to five weekly workouts, 20-60 minutes each, including longer, more moderate sessions and shorter vigorous ones.

strength

What you get: Increases muscle tone, endurance, and strength, including functional strength; may improve bone density; pumps your metabolism.

What you need: At least two total-body workouts weekly, with at least one set of 8-2 repetitions using enough weight to fatigue your muscles.

* flexibility

What you get: Increases joint range of motion, ease of movement, and muscle and tissue suppleness.

What you need: Almost daily stretching for all your major muscle groups, holding each stretch for 20-30 seconds without bouncing.

core training

What you get: Engages the deep muscles of your torso to improve body stabilization and balance.

What you need: Good posture, which fires up these muscles, plus daily exercises such as ball workouts or pilates that engage core muscles.

* restorative

What you get: Stress-reducing physical and mental relaxation; plus better body alignment, balance and awareness.

What you need: Regular periods of pilates, restorative yoga, qi gong or other quiet, restful movement. Try to give yourself 20-30 minutes daily to renew and enhance body functioning.

The strategy

To boost body benefits, do the walk/run cardio and yoga stretches together, as one workout, three to five times a week--at the gym, at home or on the road.

walk/run

If you're just starting an exercise program, begin with walking and add running in the third week. If you've engaged in regular cardio activity for at least three months, you can start with running. If you choose not to run at all, switch to a very fast walk during the running portion of the schedule.

Warm-up: Begin each workout with the yoga poses or a brisk, 5-10 minute walk.

Cool-down: Decrease your effort gradually for five minutes with an easy walk, then finish with the yoga stretches.

The schedule: Each week, do two to three steady-pace days and two interval days, varying time and intensities. On steady-pace days, walk briskly or run for 30 to 45 minutes. On interval days, begin with three minutes of walking, then run for one minute; repeat five or six times. To progress: When you can complete six intervals with ease, decrease your walk time and increase your running time.

Machine option: Use a treadmill (set on manual to manipulate speed) or an elliptical-type trainer or stepper (set on resistance to incorporate pace changes).

yoga

Use these moves in your workout or as a quick practice in the morning for energy or in the evening for relaxation.

What to do: Do each pose, moving with the breath three to five times, then hold for three to five more breaths. For a warm-up/ energizer, do the poses in the order shown. For a cool-down/ relaxer, reverse the order, then rest, breathing deeply.

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COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group